Many in the Cubs’ front office wonder why Maddon gets so much heat from fans, especially after what he’s accomplished in his three years with the team.

Is it just part of being a manager in Chicago, where baseball is talked about year round?

“I think that’s just the nature of being the manager in Chicago,” general manager Jed Hoyer said Tuesday at the GM meetings.

“We’ve won 292 games or something like that the last three years and been to three (League Championship Series) and won a World Series. And the manager that’s done that is getting criticized?

“Almost by definition, if he’s getting criticized that means it just comes with the territory, because I think you’d probably have to go back a long way in baseball history to have a guy in his first three years with a team having that kind of success. …

“I think it’s the nature of being a manager in the postseason. When you’re in the postseason the spotlight is so much on managers in general, positive and negative, from hero to goat, from success to criticism, whatever it might be.”

Hoyer argued that in the postseason the teams are so evenly matched that a few of the manager’s decisions are “upsetting the balance of the game.”

Maddon also was widely criticized in the 2016 postseason for over-extending closer Aroldis Chapman and pulling Kyle Hendricks early in Game 7 of the World Series.

“The manager is talked about in a very different way in October than he is the rest of the season,” Hoyer said. “I just think the nature of us playing as many postseason games as we have — 36, I think, the last few years — that’s 36 opportunities for that kind of scrutiny. I think that’s a lot of (the reason).

“Playoff managers are going to get a lot of scrutiny, and Joe has gotten a lot of scrutiny. I think the success kind of speaks for itself when it comes to Joe.”

Maddon has two years remaining on his contract, and figures to reap the rewards of his success in Chicago if he wants to continue managing. Maddon told the Tribune in September he doesn’t want to leave when his five-year deal is over.

“No, I hope not,” he said. “I don’t want to. We’ll see how long everyone wants to stay together, keep the band together, and then I don’t even know what the next thing is.

“I know with my age, (it) indicates it should be (his last stop). Hopefully keep it rolling right. You have different things you might want to accomplish later in your life, but I’m pleased and fortunate to be where I’m at.”

Maddon will be 65 in 2019, the final year of his deal. Would the Cubs think about an extension in the near future?

Hoyer said it’s too early to discuss that possibility.

“Listen, we have a great relationship with him,” he said. “But I think to talk about it publicly … we’d probably keep that private if we were talking about it.”